Movie: Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Director: Tim Burton
Screen play: Linda Woolverton
Starring actors: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bowman Carter, Michael Sheen and Stephen Fry.
Acting Styles:
Johnny Depp (Star).
During this movie, Johnny Depp take the character of Tarrant Hightop, who is a very unusual character. There are some subliminal messages in his costume, the copper hair is indicative of the copper poising that hatters used to suffer from. Johnny Depp takes the approach of taking a mad personality and turning him into an almost lovable character. His ability to play such an unusual character however be recognized as a Johnny Depp is key here. The box office draw attached to his name is proof of his star quality. He is a character actor, and also described as a “wild card” (Goodykoontz, Jacobs: 2014) however he is recognizable for being Johnny Depp first.
Ann Hathaway: (Character)
Anne Hathaway plays the White Queen in the movie. As a character actor she is able to draw from different outside sources to create a certain personality for the character. Like ‘Depp’ she constructs a specific character that outshines her Star status. She is immersed in the persona of the ‘Queen’ and as the audience member you become attached to the personality. Her character has a bipolar quality to her, dark but glossed in happy colors. In an interview for the movie Hathaway describes the character she gave the queen as “a Punk rock, vegan, Pacifist” (Disney, 2010)
Barbara Windsor: (Personality)
During the movie, Barbara Windsor plays the role of the dormouse. The director Tim Burton said that he had chosen Windsor for the role, primarily for her voice. As a character. She really doesn’t change her style or personality to suit her character, instead she is allowed to be herself, because her personality fits the personality of the character. Looking at her historical work, including her work in the British series East Enders, one can see how she literally plays herself, in a completely different piece of work.
Looking back at Johnny Depp as simply a star, it’s easy to negate the fact that he has become so by being a great Wildcard actor. His historical roles have varied from serious, to comical and he can’t be easily categorized. He has immersed himself in different characters and bought them to life.
You can see by the pictures of the roles he has played, what a varied pallet of personalities he brings to the screen.
References:
Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.